Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe TOKYO, Dec. 22 (UPI) -- A Japanese defense minister made a tongue-in-cheek remark, saying his country was prepared to deal with Godzilla should the fictional creature appear. As part of a lengthy political discussion regarding the existence of unidentified flying objects, Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba said he would mobilize the country's military to deal with the scaly beast of film fame, Sky News reported Saturday. Advertisement "If Godzilla were to show up, it would be a dispatch for disaster relief," Ishiba said. In terms of the potential defense implications associated with flying saucers, the minister questioned what would represent air space encroachment. "There are debates over what makes UFOs fly, but it would be difficult to say it's an encroachment of air space," the defense official said. A fictional film creation, Godzilla first appeared on screen in 1954 and has since appeared in more than 25 films.